This fits into the company's 2018 strategy, which involves adding 1,000 new people and "splitting" the company up into 250 self-organizing teams.

As part of a recruitment offensive that aims to add 1,000 people this year, Swedish fintech giant Klarna has launched a hiring process that lets specialized teams join the company together, a press release says.

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Talking to BI Nordic, David Sandström, Chief Marketing Officer at the $2,5 billion e-invoicing and payment group, says he considers it an “interesting and a creative way to approach recruitment.”

“In many creative occupations, you often have a team of people who tackle problems,” Sandström says.

David Sandström, who led a recent rebranding to help position Klarna as a consumer-services company, thinks team applications could prove useful for marketing efforts.

“Many of the best marketers already work in strong teams, and in order to be attractive to those people we are trying out new ways of marketing ourselves.”

People keen on joining Klarna may have their best shot at doing so by applying together with peers or previous colleagues.

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The war on talent is heating up, and companies are getting creative around recruitment.

The new recruitment tactic feeds into Klarna’s new strategy, whereby the company’s 2,000 employees in Europe and the US are organized in some 250 self-organizing teams; each one containing a maximum of eight people, and each one tackling a specific “customer problem”.

Marketing teams are the first ones to be considered for team applications, involving both individualized and team interviews. The method may later be introduced across the company, Klarna says.

David Sandström thinks that, to remain competitive in the war for talent, companies need to be rethinking their recruitment tactics, down to their office interiors.

“I think successful tech companies will need a whole array of recruiting tools – everything from team recruitment to trainee programs to the office amenities of your company,” Sandström says.

Will you be stealing important teams from other startups?

“Yes…I guess you could say that, but it depends on how you look at it. The idea is to recruit competent teams - and competent people will always be open to exciting new opportunities. Especially in Stockholm, as there’s an overpopulation of companies compared to the talent available. Since there’s a shortage of talent, you need to be creative in how you recruit people.”